And to clarify need vs merit.
NEED based aid is awarded based on calculations done by EACH school that use your income, and assets…and other financial information gathers on the FAFSA and PROFILE forms.
MERIT aid is awarded based on the strength of your kid’s application to the college. This would include SAT or ACT scores, GPA, and sometimes some unique thing a kid has to contribute.
Yes, you can disregard my list because all the meets need schools are going to take business assets into account. @thumper1 is giving you good advice.
@Skippy00
thumper is not annoyed with you.
But you keep on asking the same questions on different threads and what she is trying to tell you is the answers to your questions are net- net going to be the same because you own a business and the building the business operates in.
You many not like her answers, but she is telling you the truth.
And she IS the go-to financial aid guru on CC.
You will have to go to another website to get the answers you want.
Some NPC’s ask in depth income and asset questions like you mention including business equity etc I get an affordable Net cost at some like Lehigh and Lafayette but don’t want to waste time if it’s hogwash.
You need to cast a broad net because of your finances. The money MIGHT be forthcoming…and it might not be.
So…
But if you have a bottom line budget…then you have a bottom line budget…and that’s that. You can’t draw blood from a turnip…and that’s something your kiddo needs to understand. It’s probably the hardest discussion you will ever have with your kid…but it’s essential.
If you are low income, see if you qualify for free/reduced lunch at school.
If you qualify income wise then your S can get SAT test waivers (2), can have the GC verify low income and apply to all common app schools for free, and get additional 4 application fee waivers for non common app schools from Collegeboard. He can also get up to 8 CSS profile fees waived.
Your son is working hard in order to be able to afford to go to college.
If he had low stats, he would not have a chance to get accepted to selective, meet 100% need schools.
If he had low stats, he would not have a chance at significant merit.
He needs to identify a few good colleges where is guaranteed merit with his stats, then a few where he is likely to get merit, and then a few that meet 100% need.
He needs to research programs and opportunities at these schools and not just regard the quality of a school by ranking.
OP- I think before you guys get ahead of yourselves, some straight talk with your kid is in order.
There are three facts to consider-
Fact number 1- high stats are never worse than low stats. Never, never, never. Whether it means getting into a college with merit aid (and you guys need to do a deep dive on the guaranteed merit list schools- even if you’ve never heard of some of them, many are fantastic institutions), or getting out of college in 7 semesters and not 8 because of AP credit, or getting in to your State U’s Honors program, your son’s efforts will ONLY have a positive payout. It will open doors- either financial or academic, even if he ends up at a college he thinks is “beneath” him, and will pay dividends.
Fact number 2- the need based aid financial calculators are great if you have a W2 job and have standard type assets- a checking account, an IRA, own a home (even with a mortgage on it), and a 529 account for your kid. Most of the need based aid calculators will do a very credible job predicting what kind of aid these families can be looking at. If your employment and asset picture does not look like this, all bets are off. And the more complex your situation, the less reliable the calculations. The more write-offs your business takes, the more complicated the assets, the more variable your income is year to year- all of these will cloud the picture.
Fact number 3- If you are risk averse (and many of us are) your best bet is to find a college or a few colleges where your kids stats will get you the kind of merit aid which will make the college affordable based on what you can pay, plus the guaranteed federal loan. Any extra income from your kid’s summer job or on campus job is gravy. Your kid comes out with less than 30K in loans, and you come out without risking a good nights sleep. Once you’ve got that college identified-- and potentially another 2-3 which would be affordable if your kid has higher stats (a nice thing to shoot for when prepping for the next set of SAT’s!) you can toy with the rest of the list.
Make sense?
You need to start with some of the colleges suggested and take an in-depth look at what they say on their fin aid and scholarship pages. And how they do. Get a core understanding. As you actually work through these, you’ll learn how to evalate the whole opportunity and what he offers or not, plus deeper questions to pursue.
“we are on a limited budget and I don’t want to get my kids hopes up.” Well, one way to handle this is the frank talk, as some suggested here. As a business owner, you don’t know how you stand for aid. We were applying before NPCs were available and told ours, no college is a dream school, if the right aid doesn’t come through. Up front and true.
And discourage this talk about “crappy” colleges. It’s one of the immature things kids say. Lots of kids work hard. They choose colleges where they can fit, thrive, grow- and afford the costs. They go on to fine glory.
Thank you everyone. No we do not qualify for free or reduced lunch.
@skippy00
My experience is no free/reduced price lunch = no Pell grant eligibility.
I am also of the strong opinion to do the research and narrow your list of candidate schools sharply. Don’t waste money applying to 20 schools, or even 10. Smarter option is to figure out a reasonable application budget - and stick to it. Some colleges will let you apply for free, but you still have to pay to send the SAT scores. You need a budget for travel to go see the schools. You need to have some money set aside for this time next year for housing deposits, orientation fees etc.
The final point I’d make - your son should be actively involved in this process. This is not YOUR college, it is HIS. 
Best of luck.
https://www.benefits.gov/benefits/benefit-details/1280
I think this is the link to MA SNAP eligibility. It’s possible to be lower income…but maybe have too much money in the bank to qualify for SNAP.
What I am struggling with is I look at schools on the list that offer great merit but then I really can’t be sure if it’s going to fit our budget because the NPC will not be accurate. It’s basically a crap shoot. I assumed you can also get need based aid and the merit. This is all very confusing to me a first timer. I’m not experienced like the rest of you. I wish I could grasp it all but I also have acquaintances, colleagues, other parents telling me something different. Everyone has a different opinion on it all. We do not have any assets other than a home we have a mortgage on and a business we also have a hefty mortgage on. Income fluctuates. I guess we will have to roll the dice because I’m not even sure our in state school will be affordable. So many great schools that would be a safety are off the list because of cost. What a bummer!
At SOME schools you can get merit…and need based aid. This varies by school.
Some schools don’t give merit at ALL.
Some have only highly competitive merit aid.
Some meet full need for all accepted students.
Most colleges do not meet full need for all accepted students.
Don’t ASSUME anything. If you have a specific college to ask about…ask. Look on their websites. Some give this info.
Like, I believe it was you who asked about UConn, right? You thought the institutional scholarships could be added in again…when they were already included. We helped you figure that out.
Ok so what about Lafayette, Lehigh, university of NH? Quinnipiac?
Have you run the Fafsa 4caster yet? Do you want to reveal income (before biz deductions,) home equity and for the building the biz is in, other aspects?
Many schools do NOT stack the aid. If you get need based aid, then they give merit, they just substitute the need based aid out and plug in the merit, and your cost of attendance is the same. A few schools might replace loans with merit or something. There are a few schools that very specifically DO stack. But most “meets need” schools do not. At some of those, even outside scholarships get treated that way (they reduce your need based aid).
You are in a pickle because of your business assets, I think. You are going to have to focus in on guaranteed merit for stats.
The people around you likely have very little knowledge of the nuances of college FA. There is a lot of knowledge out here. I just think you don’t like what you are hearing.
You should:
@Skippy00 ,
I suggest you bookmark this website and with check it when investigating colleges.
it shows which colleges are need blind and need aware.
https://www.edvisors.com/plan-for-college/college-admissions/need-blind-admissions/
Someone upstream posted already about Quinnipiac. Did you read that? It will not be affordable…according to that poster. The school doesn’t meet full need, and has a lot of high stats kids applying.
Lehigh and Lafayette both meet full need. BUT both are Profile schools and WILL look at the equity in your business real estate. What IS that amount? Both also use a portion of primary home equity I believe.
Both also consider student interest in the admissions process. Your kid is in the mix stats wise for acceptance…I think…but he will have to show them that he is REALLY interested in their schools.
Also, if he applies directly into engineering, admissions will be more competitive.
Here is the other tricky part. We do get a W2 because we are an SCorp. We are an employee of the S corp.
The auto merit schools like U Alabama, UAH have merit listed by stats on their website.
If you have the stats, you get that scholarship, and of course you should also get accepted.
For example if you get full tuition, then the fees, room, board, books, travel, insurance might be $17,000.
If you pay $5,000 and son pays $8,500 with loan and summer earnings, you would need another $3,500.
What are you expecting your FAFSA EFC to be? You said you would qualify for Pell.